


Reputations

by Gcgraywriter



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Hogwarts House Sorting, Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor Harry Potter, Gay Draco Malfoy, Gay Harry Potter, Gryffindor vs. Slytherin Rivalry, Gryffindor/Slytherin Inter-House Relationships, Hogwarts Inter-House Friendships, Hogwarts Inter-House Unity, Honeymoon, M/M, Neville Longbottom secret partner, Professor Harry Potter, Professor Neville Longbottom, Slytherin Harry Potter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-31
Updated: 2020-08-31
Packaged: 2021-03-07 00:41:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,752
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26218057
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gcgraywriter/pseuds/Gcgraywriter
Summary: “Let us get one thing straight. Evil comes in all shapes and sizes. If a dark wizard is attacking you, I promise you, there will be no opportunity to ask which house they were sorted into.”
Relationships: Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter
Comments: 13
Kudos: 261





	Reputations

Harry sighed again as he pinched the bridge of his nose.

“It wasn’t me! He’s the one to blame! You know what Slytherins are like!” It wasn’t the first time he’d heard it this year, and he knew it wouldn’t be the last.

“That’s enough!” He said quietly, but the room fell silent as if he had bellowed. He looked at each one of his second-year students; Looked firmly into their twelve and thirteen-year-old faces and shook his head in despair. He walked around the front of his desk and hitched himself up on the edge. He sat for a moment, swinging his legs slightly before asking his next question.

“Why do Slytherin’s have this bad reputation? Can anyone tell me?” He wasn’t angry, just tired. It was the end of term and exams were finished with, he was now just tying up odds and ends. “Ms Abernathy, why do you think that is?” He pointed to a sweet-looking blond girl from Hufflepuff who reminded him of Hannah Abbott.

“Because they all sided with Voldemort?” She asked,  
looking around uncertainly. A few of the other students nodded whilst the Slytherins in his class looked between uncomfortable and frustrated.

“Good, thank you” He smiled “They all sided with Voldemort” Harry paused for a moment. “Can anyone tell me what year the battle of Hogwarts took place?” A small Ravenclaw boy pushed his hand into the air, a gesture which reminded him fondly of Hermione. 

“Yes, Mr Hawthorne?”

“1998, May 1998,” he said clearly. Harry smiled

“5 points to Ravenclaw” causing a small cheer to erupt from a quarter of his class. “The Battle of Hogwarts happened in May 1998. Now, please hold up your hands if you were born before 1987” No one held their hands up. 

“We’re only twelve, Sir,” Said another boy from Ravenclaw. 

“Exactly my point. Of all the students of this school, none of them would have been old enough to have supported Voldemort, which means what? Mr Mitty?” He pointed to a short boy wearing a red tie. 

“None of the Slytherins at school sided with Voldemort” he replied sullenly. 

“Exactly! Now, can anyone give me another reason why Slytherins have a bad reputation?” He looked around and saw a defiant set of eyes at the back of the room. “You Mr Macmillan, Do you have something to add?”

“Evil wizards only ever come from Slytherin!” He said certainly. Harry smiled and shook his head. 

“Let us get one thing straight. Evil comes in all shapes and sizes. If a dark wizard is attacking you, I promise you, there will be no opportunity to ask which house they were sorted into.” 

“Ok, then sir, who are the others, that weren’t sorted into Slytherin?” Macmillan called back smugly. 

“Hand up to speak, please! However, as its a good question, I will answer on this occasion,” Harry took a deep breath before he continued. 

“Quirinus Quirrell, to name one. Does everyone know the story?” the class nodded.

“He was a Ravenclaw” Harry nodded “and then there was also Peter Pettigrew, A Gryffindor” there were a few gasps in the class, but otherwise it was silent. “Just because someone is a Slytherin doesn’t make them evil. I was almost sorted into Slytherin. Because it said that I could be great, I chose Gryffindor based on a bias that Slytherin was the evil house.” He took off his glasses and cleaned them. He always got a lump in his throat whenever he spoke about Wormtail. 

“Aren’t you dating a Slytherin, sir?” Someone asked. He didn’t see who as he looked up to the blurred classroom. He slid his glasses back on before he answered. 

“I am” he smiled

“It’s Draco Malfoy, isn’t it?”

“Not that it’s any of your business, Mr Macmillian, but yes, it is.”

“Malfoy? As in Death Eater Malfoy?” A wide-eyed girl from Slytherin asked.

“The very same, and obviously If I thought he was evil, I certainly wouldn’t be engaged to him, would I?” 

There were some more gasps around the room, and he smiled again. 

“I won't answer any more questions about my personal life, because it isn’t relevant.” He nodded firmly before continuing 

“When you are sorted into a house, you are taught that your house is the best and that all the others are different, backwards or weird. Nitwit, Blubber, Oddment & Tweak, these are the names we call the other houses. However, each house has its strengths and weaknesses. For instance, Gryffindors are brave but also reckless and headstrong and tend to have a disregard for the rules,” He pointed to himself and smiled as the class chuckled. 

“Ravenclaws are clever and witty. However, they can also be prideful and boastful of their knowledge. Hufflepuffs are loyal and accepting, but they can be seen as simple, weakwilled and dim-witted.” He held his hand up as some of the students started to object. 

“This is not my personal opinion, this was the general belief when I was at school.” He smiled as he saw some of the houses open their mouths to object. “Can anyone see a pattern? Whereas all the other houses are listed first for their positive traits, Slytherins are always noted for their negative first. They are confident and ambitious, cunning and smart, they strive for greatness! They are the people who excel, The healers, Wizengamot and diplomats, Those that push industry by pushing themselves. The downside to this house is that greatness is attractive. Has anyone ever heard of an evil wizard not wanting to be great?” He shook his head as he looked at each face and noted that they were rapt up in his words. He smiled slightly 

“As you know, I don’t usually give homework for the holidays, but today I am.” He waited for the collective groan and smiled “Oh Shush!” He grinned before continuing. “Your homework is to get to know someone from a different house. Louis, Lucy & Roxanne Weasley, don’t get looking at each other! You won’t be partners in crime, this time!” He smirked at them as he caught them rolling their eyes. “I can either pair you up, or you can choose?” None of the students moved to pair up, and he rolled his eyes, “Right then let me see…” He looked down the register on his desk and smiled. He called out their names in pairs as he watched them all groan and roll their eyes. “We’ve got 15 minutes of the lesson left. I want you all to learn something from your assigned partner that you didn’t already know, and your homework is to owl each other over the summer. I want you to see each other as wizards and witches instead of Gryffindors or Slytherins, Hufflepuffs or Ravenclaws. Come on, shift yourselves!” He grinned as he clapped them into moving. 

He sat down as he watched the children move into their new seats. He really thought that these prejudices would have died down by now but apparently not. He wondered whether he should speak to Pomona and see whether anything could be done. He could see the shy and nervous Slytherins sitting next to their school mates, and he knew that they were bullied by the other houses. He knew that something needed to be done before Slytherin’s house created the next dark lord. He shuddered at the thought. He knew Slughorn was retiring soon, Maybe he could ask Pomona to become the new Slytherin head. It was something to think about as he watched the children begin to open up to each other. He would try this with his first years too in his next class. 

His large pendulum clock hanging on the wall chimed out the hour, and all the students sprang up ready to depart for their next lesson. 

“Remember, I want you to write letters to each other over the summer, I will be testing you on it when we return.” He hollered across the swiftly emptying classroom. He looked down at his desk as he gathered together the remains of the last sessions homework. 

The room was almost empty when a voice pierced the quiet from the doorway. “Nice lesson!” Harry looked up and smiled as Professor Neville Longbottom sauntered in, hands in pockets. 

“I didn’t know you were listening,” Harry blushed. 

“I had a free period and thought I’d come by for a chat, all my homework’s been marked until next period when my first-years hand theirs in.” Harry nodded. 

“Nice! I’ve let mine slip a bit, but I’ve got a free session now, I’ll try and get on top of it now.”

“Yeah, I can see Draco letting you take homework on your honeymoon” Neville smirked as he got closer to the desk. 

“My life would not be worth living!” Harry laughed.

“And you said he wasn’t evil!” Neville laughed

“I take it back, ” he laughed. 

“I meant it, though, about your lesson. Looking back, you realise just how cruel children can be, and Slytherins certainly have it the hardest.”

“Yeah, I’ve been thinking of some different ways to try and help, do you recon Pomona would let me take over the Slytherins when Slughorn retires?”

“Wow, Harry, that’s ambitious! Not sure whether you could as you were sorted into Gryffindor, but I guess you could ask.”

“I may do before term ends.” Harry stood up as he grabbed all the homework from his desk. 

“Well, let me know how that goes! Now, I’d better shoot, I just thought I’d come by and say hi,” Neville smiled as he turned to go. “Oh, I completely forgot… what do you and Draco want as a wedding present?” Harry paused for a moment and smiled as he thought about it. 

“Nothing! We’ve got everything we need, just bring yourself and a plus one if there’s one on the horizon!” Harry winked. He’d heard from Ginny and Hermione that there was someone special for the shy wizard, and was desperate to know more. 

The taller man blushed and smiled. “So, there is someone on the horizon?” Harry teased. 

“A bottle of fire whiskey it is then,” Neville laughed, avoiding the question. 

“Hey! You’re no fun! But I won’t turn that down!” Harry laughed together as they paused in the corridor. 

“Good, See you later, Harry. See you at the Burrow?”

“Yeah, See you there,” He said as he offered his hand. Neville took it and shook it, patting the back of his hand affectionately before they parted.


End file.
